Referees and the Revenue pose taxing problem for GAA

There can be no return to the old system of payment after Croke Park’s latest statement

IN A reversal of the hackneyed narrative a storm preceded the calm. Revenue’s newly minted interest in the so-called income of GAA referees was never going to be an easy message for the GAA to convey but their failure to manage the message inflamed a delicate situation. Inter-county referees were told directly of the new arrangements, county boards were informed through normal channels but the general body of club referees were left to find out for themselves and there was no public statement from Croke Park. County boards were supposed to handle it. Broadly, they didn’t.

Was it true? What exactly were the implications? Those questions were left hanging. As anger rose among referees some county boards started to scramble. Eight days ago Waterford referees were asked by their county board not to meet a representative of the newly formed Gaelic Match Officials Association (GMOA). Instead, they were reassured that